• PRESIDENT Edgar Lungu (centre) chairing a high level meeting for Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs) to Global Opportunities at the Unitaed Nations headquarters in New York, USA. Picture by SALIM HENRY/STATE HOUSE

From PERPETUAL SICHIKWENKWE –

in New York
PRESIDENT Edgar Lungu has called for enhanced global partnerships to foster development in Land Locked Developing Countries (LLDCs).
Mr Lungu said persistent development challenges facing LLDCs require enhanced global partnerships that embrace all key facets of the means of achieving development.
The President was speaking at the on-going 70th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA70) on Monday when he chaired a high level forum for LLDCs? in New York.
The theme of the forum was “Linking Landlocked Developing Countries to Global Opportunities, in order to deliver on our commitment of implementing the Vienna Programme of Action for the decade 2014-2024″.
Mr Lungu said among the means of achieving development was the adequate provision and mobilisation of financing from all sources (domestic, international, public and private) and the facilitation of fair and free trade.
He said the development and transfer of reliable, affordable and modern technology on mutually agreed and beneficial terms and capacity-building assistance and enabling institutional and policy environments at all levels were also other means of fostering development.
Mr Lungu evoked the need for Heads of State and Government to address the specific challenges faced by their countries based on the theme.
He said LLDCs had a historic opportunity to move forward with the Vienna Programme of Action and the recently adopted 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
He said this could be aligned to the national priority – setting, mobilisation of resources and the achievement of specific gains.
He however, said countries needed resources, partnerships, including with neighbouring transit countries, development partners, international institutions, the private sector, academia, think-tanks, and non-governmental organizations to achieve the goals.
Mr Lungu said LLDCs had agreed on an agenda that should enable millions of people build a better future.
“For us, we have to ensure that none of the 450 million of our people in landlocked developing countries is left behind,” he said.
He said the Vienna Programme of Action was meant to transform economies and to increase and sustain high levels of inclusive economic growth as well as sustainable development for all.
Mr Lungu said LLDCs had prioritised industrialisation as a means of increasing higher value exports and means of creating employment.
He said building and modernising infrastructure, both soft and physical, ranging from telecommunications, transport, energy, water and sanitation was one of the sure ways of enhancing development.
He identified roads, railways, airports, border support facilities, energy, real estate to agricultural and health services as some of the projects to be procured.
“As we link LLDCs to global opportunities, there is need for value-addition to our products and we have to enhance the effectiveness of the value chain,” he said.
He also spoke about climate change which he described as a great threat to economies.
Mr Lungu invited LLDCs to participate in the 13th Edition of the Inter-Modal Transport Africa Conference and Exhibition to be held in Zambia next month to explore business opportunities in the transport, construction and other sectors.